Sonic Drive-In Restaurants Coming To Rochester

Sonic Drive-In restaurants is bringing its roller-skating car hop servers to Rochester. The Oklahoma City-based chain says it will develop five new Sonic drive-ins in Rochester over the next four years.

That will double its presence in New York State. It has five other stores scattered around the state, but none in the Rochester region.

Sonic has had a big presence in the South and the Central Plains region of the U.S., and the company says it sees tremendous opportunity for expansion in the Northeast. The local franchisee expects to open up locations in Henrietta, Greece and Webster and eventually look at some other locations. He is planning on opening the first restaurant in April of next year.

Sonic says it is partnering with franchisees to meet the needs of specific markets, and in Rochester, the restaurants will feature an enclosed dining area as well as the usual drive-in features.

The local franchise group is led by Fran DeSimone, who has already worked with Panera Bread, Burger King and Taco Bell.